Warm Weather Is Hurting H&M's September Sales

To anyone who is reluctant to let summer go, a particularly warm September might seem like great news. Above average temperatures aren't great for everyone, though: H&M reports that sales grew just 7 percent from September 1 through the 23rd after a three-month period during which profits jumped 20 percent. For retailers to sell sweaters, it kind of needs to be sweater weather.

This follows a nice 19 percent sales boost in August; as WSJ points out, that month was colder than average, encouraging people to buy more fall clothing. The takeaway? People like buying according to the weather right now.

Overall, H&M did well in the third quarter, which ran from June 1 to August 31, with sales growing by about 16 percent. Profits were up 20 percent, clocking in at roughly $974 million.

While it waits for fall weather to finally drop, H&M is also busy expanding its e-commerce reach. CEO Karl-Johan Persson said in a statement that next year it will open e-commerce sites in eight to 10 new online markets, after opening in France, Italy, Spain and China this year.